Wolf 253M, known as “Limpy” was the beloved member of Yellowstone’s Druid Peak pack — and one of the first wolves shot dead when federal protections were lifted on Northern Rockies wolves.Please donate what you can today to help us save our Greater Yellowstone wolves and other wildlife. Help us reach our goal of raising $140,000. “Nicknamed ‘Limpy’ because his back legs were crippled in a fight when he was young, 253M was just shy of 8 years old — a wolf Methuselah — when he died March 28, shot in Wyoming on the first day wolves lost their protected status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.” –”Wolf’s death stirs fears for species’ fate” by Patty Henetz, The Salt Lake City Tribune, April 8, 200

The killing in the Greater Yellowstone region has already begun.

One of the first victims: Wolf 253M — a celebrity wolf, affectionately known as “Limpy.”

Limpy was many things to many people – to wolf-watchers, he was the hobbling member of Yellowstone’s famous Druid Peak Pack. To Utahans, he was the first wolf to be seen in the state for more than 70 years.

But wolf 253M’s celebrity didn’t save him in the end. Limpy and two other wolves were shot dead in an elk feeding ground, part of Wyoming’s brutal shoot-on-sight policy that covers virtually the entire state.

Limpy’s death was just the beginning. It’s been 26 days since wolves were stripped of federal protections in the Greater Yellowstone area — and at least 17 wolves have already been killed in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. And there are surely more to come.

Officials in Idaho changed their state law on the day wolves were delisted, making it far easier for anyone to kill wolves near livestock or domestic animals.

In Wyoming, state officials stripped all protection from wolves in 88% of the state. Locals have organized weekend eradication “wolf hunts” to kill any wolf that they find. One group tracked a wolf for 35 miles on snowmobiles before shooting it dead.[1]

You contribution will help us…

• Fight for our wolves in court;
• Confront flawed state wolf policies with science and common sense;
• Help ranchers reduce conflicts with wolves using non-lethal methods;
• Debunk the myths and misinformation about wolves through on-the-ground education and outreach; and
• Much, much more…

Will you make a tax-deductible emergency donation right now to help?We can win the battle to save our wolves. But we can’t do it without your help.

Sincerely, Rodger Schlickeisen President Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. You can make your tax-deductible contribution online now via our secure website or you can call 1-800-385-9712 to make your contribution by phone.

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I’ve never been one for new year’s resolutions. I’ve also tried to tell myself for years now that I don’t have issues with food. It’s simple I eat when I hungry, I don’t when I’m not. My imagination is obviously alive and well.

For about four months now I’ve been thinking about removing processed sugar from my diet. If I can figure out a system for telling just what processed sugar is when I’m looking at labels I may make this a new year’s resolution.

Another consideration is eating animal meat. I was a vegetarian for some five plus years back in the 90’s. I’m still not very fond of poultry and I rather dislike pork. I do like the flavor of my bovine friends…but then that’s my problem with them. I’m not so fond of eating my friends. I really try to be at peace with eating red meat. I am successful to a degree. But, I have to put a lot of energy into being at peace with it that sometimes I just think it’s not worth the effort. So, in 2009 I likely will return to vegetarianism.

I am feeling inexplicably happy. I don’t know if it’s the 2+ feet of snow on the ground, that it was just the winter solstice, that christmas eve is tomorrow, that I’m at work but not working, that I know my sweet one is out looking for a gift for me right now, that I’m experiencing a hormonal shift  or if it’s that I wanted to be an artist when I was in my teens.

But, it’s happy. Not laughing, giggling, excited ice cream happy. More like quiet joyful silence, deep breaths of slightly sweet air, feeling the soft waves of Sebago fold about my body and gently rock me back and forth, knowing that there are difficulties and knowing that those difficulties are themselves friends kind of happy.

I wanted to be an artist. I thought that to be an artist was to paint, to sculpt, to created objects to be held or seen. I thought to be an artist was to be praised, to be unique, to be financially successful, to be avant garde. I thought too much.

In this moment I am an artist. I see, feel, and experience a moment of  beauty that I call happy.

Be an artist in our world.

2010, TJ’s will open in Portland. I am sooooooooooooo stoked. This is got to be the best Thanksgiving ever! Life just got even better and I am thankful.

We took all three of our dogs to Camp Bowwow today. It was their first camp experience.

The each had to have an interview before being accepted into camp. This was pretty stressful for Ducky & me since our two big one, Tim and Ella, are not well socialized. The camp counselors decided to give them a try based on the interview.

All three dogs had great days. Played with other dogs and got some positive exposure to strangers.

A great thing about camp is the “camper cams”. I got to log on at lunch and watch the babies via webcam! Very cool. I absolutely love that my sweet, but unsocialized dogs have this opportunity. It really makes my heart glad.

They’ll go to camp again Friday. Then likely once a week for as long as we can afford it.

We’re a lot of happy campers!

At the beginning of October Ducky & I changed gyms. The old gym was too expensive and seemed to be going downhill in the upkeep department. The new gym is 1/2 the cost of the old and offers us 2 places to work out, one of which is only 20 minutes from our home. Pretty good deal.

About the same time we decided to start eating lean cuisine lunches. I had been making us sandwiches (me, pb&j; Ducky, meat based). Eating lean cuisine gives me an additional 5-7 minutes in my am routine. And, I’m always pressed for time in the morning. Also, the lean cuisine’s are between 290 – 320 calories which is a daily savings of 50 – 150 calories over the sandwiches. Pretty good overall I’d say. The biggest draw back is the sodium content. The frozen meals pack a wholloping 500-700 mg of sodium per. We don’t use salt in any of our cooking however, so with eaing only one lean cuisine a day we still come under the daily sodium recommendation.

During October I went to the gym twice. Between Branch’s puppy class, my emotionally draining work enviroment of late, Ducky getting sick and my severe allergies I just couldn’t make it any more. Some days after work I really wanted to go to the gym but didn’t. I actually felt physically sick and a strong need to just make our hour long journey home, care for the dogs and go to bed.

I asked my doctor back in August about my fatigue. She ordered CBC and TSH bloodwork. CBC came back normal. The TSH was not processed by the lab so I have to go back for another draw. However, I don’t expect there to be any issue with my thyroid. I’ve have this tested before in relation to my feeling fatigue and it has always come back normal.

A few days ago, Friday 31 Oct. I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with bronchitis. Ducky was diagnosed the day before so…no surprise.

As always the nurse weighed me. 218. Yes, 218. This is the most I have ever weighed. And, it is 20 pounds more than I weighed at my August doctor’s appointment. This is really hard for me.

I feel frustrated that I feel fatigued all the time. I feel too tired or too sick to go to the gym. Am I a wuss and don’t know it? Am I of naturally poor constitution?

I’m obviously making up for my lunch time calorie discount somewhere else.

I really don’t know how to motivate myself. I am incredibly impatient with results, so I’m easily discouraged. I scour the web, buy books and magazines about fitness and working out but don’t succeed in motivating myself past an initial trial.

I do love the ideas of strong body, fit lungs, stamina, meeting goals, self-esteem, outdoors, feeling well, feeding my body well.

I’ve been trying to do these things for about 8 years now. I have had some successes. In Nashville (before my mom died) I got to the gym 3 times a week and dropped down to 160. I’ve also had many failures.

Not sure, where to go from here. But for my height and body type, 218 is really not healthy. Not to mention that I don’t fell very attractive at it.

So, here it is, in writing. Maybe having “said this aloud” will help motivate me in a way that I haven’t been before.